These Daggers Against My Finger Tips
by Paranoixa
Summary: Stealth Elf has no past. She has little to claim her own; her daggers and the strange need to keep moving. Speaks knows she has this need to find out who she is and where she came from but thinks she should leave the past in the past. Hex, Spyro and Scratch think she should do what she needs to do. But will the truth hurt more than not knowing? WILL be continued!
1. Awake

When she first awoke, she had but two things that she would carry with her into her new life.

1. The need to keep moving and

2. Her daggers.

And that was it. Not the soothing memory of a doting and loving mother and father. Not a recollection of what had brought her to be there. Not even a name to bring some insight of the previous life she had once lived.

But she had enough sense to know she wasnt supposed to be there. That she was in danger. That something was after her, watching her in the shadows.

She shivered and crawled to her feet. There wasnt a gust of wind but she felt suddenly chilly. And vulnerable.

A shuffle in a bush beside her, made her jump and yelp. Her heart beating wildly, she dared to walk closer. She didnt know what she would find. Maybe help. The thought was comforting but unrealistic. If someone wanted to help her, why would they hide in a shrub? Wouldnt they just walk up to her and explain what was happening to her. But, keep in mind that this is a little girl we're talking about, so she doesnt know any better and continues to walk closer to the bush until she... sensed something. Something dark and evil and cruel. Again, she doesnt know any better. But she knows enough that that was her cue to get the heck out of there.

She took off running and pushed herself faster when she heard another pair of feet crunching against the ground. Eventually, she tripped and tumbled down a hill. The ordeal scabbed her arms and legs and left a pretty deep gash under her bare foot. Nevertheless, she pushed herself onward and limped to a hollowed out tree that went about three or four feet underground. There was an assortment of leaves and berries in there. She glanced around confusedly before pushing herself up. They formed a circle. She cocked her head to the side and stared at them in wonder. They seemed to be emitting a glow of some sort.

There were footsteps above her and she froze instantly. They seemed to be listening. She held her breath and counted off the seconds. What would they do when they found her? _No_, she thought, shaking her head quietly. IF they found her. She gulped and looked up toward the sky.

A pair of black feet stood in front of her. Without thinking, she took in a deep breath and sniffed the air. Whoever they were, they smelled vaguely familiar. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. _Think, think, think..._

When nothing came she opened her eyes and looked back to the feet. They were gone. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her heart sink.

_No_, she thought scrambling out of the natural bunker. _No, come back_.

That sense of familiarity. It was something. It wasnt much. She didnt know if the person were friend or foe but maybe they couldnt give her some answers. Tell who she was, why she was here, and where she was supposed to be going.

But when she was on ground level again, there was not a soul in sight. She looked all around her, desperatley willing for the person to reappear. And when it became obvious that that wasnt going to happen, she reasoned with herself that if no one was going to tell her these answers that she was seeking for...

She would find them

. . .

She wandered after that. Wandered for several long days with only one thought on her mind: _get answers._ That was what kept her going. It wasnt the berries she had collected from the tree. It wasnt the water from the fresh spring she found after nearly falling out from dehydration. It was her need to get answers. And something else, bigger than her first need, but she wouldnt understand what it was until much later.

Until then, however, she continued with this impossible journey. For several long days and for several long nights, she walked through those forests with a determination in her step and frustration clear on her face. Every once in a while, she would find another hallowed out tree and rest for a bit. A minute or three. That was it. She couldnt risk missing anything. And even that was hard to bear. But, she reasoned, if she didnt have the proper rest, she could miss something right in front of her out of sleep deprivation.

But as the days dragged on, her reason for continuing on slowly began to lose it's significance. _What am I even looking for_, she first found herself thinking on the third day. She'd been shocked when she realized what she had thought but eventually she came to accept it. Why _was _she walking? _Where _was she walking. And then, for the first time, she sat down and thought. She didnt have much to think of. She had no past and, if these trees didnt end soon, she wouldnt have a future.

After a while, she crawled back to her feet although her determination was gone, replaced with a sort of "why even bother" attittude. Even if she found something or the Person With The Black Feet, what would she do? Say "hey, I dont know who I am or where I come from. Tell me what to do"? She scoffed at herself but kept walking. She still had to keep moving. That much was perfectly clear. Even if there wasnt a reason for her to keep moving, she didnt know what else to do. She had nothing else to do. Since she'd woken up, that had been the only thing on her mind. Aside from the Person With The Black Feet, that was the one thing that brought her comfort. The thought that she could keep moving. That she_ had _to keep moving. If she stopped, then what would she do? There was nothing. So... she kept moving.

Until, the sun rose on the seventh morning.

Her throat was scorching hot and her bones ached. She tried to cry out in pain but instead was launched into a coughing fit. Her head was pounding, her heart was racing, and she felt like someone was draining the life out of her.

But she forced herself to sit up in the corner of her tree. She had to think.

She was... sick. That she could remeber. It wasnt it words, though. She could just picture, not quite remember, herself being down with a fever. None of what she thought was really blurs of some sort. Just visual images or some sense of Knowing. No memory, no contact, no words. She couldnt remember _how _to speak. Not that she wanted to. She had no reason to. That and she wasnt aware speaking was a thing.

And then something formed in her brain slowly.

If she was sick...

If she was sick... she wouldnt be able to get around.

Her eyes widening with horror, she started to breathe heavily. _No, no, no. _That couldnt happen. She_ had _to move. It was all she had!

She grunted and wheezed and tried crawling to her feet but this just sent a shiver of pain up her back and sent her sprialing to the ground. She couldnt move then. Anything. Her limbs were paralyzed. She was terrified.

She choked back a sob, not quite understanding what this burden of a feeling was building in her chest, and glanced upward.

The tree, liked all the others had been, seemed to have a sort of protection around it. Some sort of life. The sun shined down from a a crack in the ceiling and shined down upon her. And a warmth filled her. Urged her on. Told her nature would take care of her. Would keep her moving and that she need'nt worry. And she listened. She let her heart beat fall and before long, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until the light died out completley.

. . .

When she awoke, the light really was gone. Instead, there was another light. Coming from a fire someoe had lit.

She panicked.

The light had been comforting and she needed it back. She tried to sit up but this sent a stab a pain to her chest and so she cried out before falling back to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Easy now, child" a voice said.

Her eyes widened at the voice. What was that? That sound. It hadnt been like anything she'd heard in all of her... seven days. It was gruff and scratchy and old but beautiful in a way. Oh, how long had it been since she'd been in the presence of another living being? And how long had she been aching for that familiar feeling.

Familiar.

She gazed down to the ground, hoping to see black feet.

To her disappointment, all she saw was a pair of old and wrinkly grey feet.

She forced her eyes to meet his and saw kind and concerned eyes staring back at hers.

"Hello there" he said.

Her eyes widened again. Oh, how wonderful it was to hear someone.

"I see you have found my trees."

Uncapable of speaking, she stared at him, listening to his strange way of words.

"It's just a good thing you're a theif, or I wouldnt have noticed my supplies running short and decided to come back and fence the place in."

_Theif._

She didnt know the meaning of the word. Didnt know the meaning of any of his words. But she didnt like the sound of _theif_. It didnt sound since. And she didnt like that she was addressing her as one. Still ununable to move, she just settled on mean mugging him.

He just laughed and said "dont look like that. It saved your life. But, really, someone ought to have taught you better."

"..."

"I realize you probably cant talk. The Pipna must be clogging up you pipes."

She frowned in confusion. Pipna?

"No worries. You'll be up and on your feet by tommorrow."  
>She continued to stare blankly above her.<p>

. . .

He lied. She wasnt on her feet the next day. She could hardly sit up. This, obviously, pissed her off so she took to dumping his cup of Camamile tea in his lap. He ignored this and continued to speak.

"The Pipna should be completley out of your system by tomorrow. You must have had it longer than I thought."  
>". . ."<p>

"You dont have a clue as to what I'm saying, do you" he eventually asked. That much he had gathered after talking to her for a few hours. She wasnt deaf. Her responses to when he spoke or when she heard something knocked that option out. But her eyes were unchanging as he spoke, ignorant and hearing and yet not hearing at the same time.

". . ."

"Well, I guess that answers that" he said, sighing.

"Can you speak?"  
>Oh how she wished she could. She'd even tried it a couple times. Her voice was back and it didnt hurt to breathe anymore so this was possible. But whenever she tried to form words, they'd just come out a jumbled mess that neither or them could understand.<p>

"N-nnergthf."

"I'll teach you" he said in determination. "I will raise you as my apprentince."

"Yrgt."

He shook his head at her. "Say as I say."

She cocked her head to the side.

"Right." He pointed to himself. "Me" he said.

He pointed to her. "You.

She scowled. She knew he was trying to show her how to speak. But she did not want to speak those words. They were not important. She let her eyes roam over to the light. It was late afternoon and now it was the prettiest she'd ever seen it. She pointed to it.

He followed her gaze and felt his eyebrows shoot up. "Light" he said.

"L-Leet."  
>"Light."<p>

"Leet."

"La."

"La."  
>"Ite."<p>

"Ite."  
>"La-ite."<br>"La-ite."  
>"Light."<br>"Light."

She smiled to herself. "Light. Light. Light, light, light, light."  
>He chuckled and said "yes, light. Anything other favorites?"<br>Before she even realized it, she pointed to the tree bark. She'd been drawn to the tree since the very beginning. It kept her safe.

"Ah, tree."  
>"...Eah, treh."<br>He laughed again and said "no, tree."

"Nuh, treh."  
>"<em>Tree<em>."

"Tre-ee."  
>"Tree."<p>

"...Tree."

The trees kept her safe. They always had.

"Sa-fe" she said.

He smiled. "The tree keep us all safe. Nature keeps us safe."  
>She frowned and said "La-ite, treh, sa-fe. Light, tree, safe."<br>She closed her eyes.

"Light, trees, safe."  
>. . .<p>

She was to be Leroy's apprentince.

That was his name, apparently, although she preferred to call him "Speak" because that's what he called what they were doing.

She didnt know what an apprentince was. But she wanted to know. Wanted to know whatever it was he had to teach her.

It was how he gave her her name.  
>He ran a diagnosis to see her strengths and weaknesses. She had a connection with the Earth. That was obvious whenever she came in contact with it, which was always. More than once, something ended up exploding out of nowhere.<p>

But it was when he set up dummies for her to fight when he decided her name. He'd been thinking of one, figuring she didnt have one, when he saw her teleport and dig her daggers into the dummy. Then she ran, rather quickly, to another and took it out as well.

After the shock wore off, Speak smile and said "My young apprentince... I have given you a name."  
>She looked up, clutching the daggers she never seemed to leave, and cocked her head to the side. Name. He'd said that when he told her his. She never thought she could have one. The thought made her tingly as she waited for her new name.<p>

"Stealth Elf."


	2. Pericoloso Riservare(It's Italian)

**Sorry, guys, this is still chapter 2, I'm just adding another character. I am working on chapter 3 though so no need to worry.**

"Evening, Master Speaks."  
>Speaks looked up from the patch of fur he was observing and smiled. "Evening, Stealth Elf. Did you get my ingredients?"<br>"Yes." She sat the bag on on the desk beside him before retreating to the walls.

Years before, Stealth Elf got picky about eating food off the ground so she carved little slots into the bark to hold the food. Today, there were three berries, a cup of water, two walnuts, and something she couldnt identify but hoped was a raisin. She sighed and let the tarp fall over the walls. Dinner wasnt looking too hot.

"That's what happens when you blwo off hunting to go run around in mud all day long" Speaks mumbled.

True enough. She had spent the day hanging around the marshes, drawing little figures into the mud with her daggers. She knew she would regret her decision later but later was later and now was now so she figured she'd deal with that problem later. But later wa now and now was then and now she had nothing to eat. Stealth Elf let her hand idle down to her stomach. She was starving. But she could wait. She let her handle tap her own satchel across her shoudler and nodded her head. Yeah, she could wait.

"Can I retire early tonight" Stealth Elf asked.

Speaks nearly choked on the cup of pea juice he was drinking and she wasnt all that surprised. Normally, she asked to "retire" later. "Um, sure" he stuttered but by then she had shot up the stairs.

. . .

On the way home from the marshes, Stealth Elf actually had gone to the market. She knew Speaks didnt like the "market food" but he would ahve to deal with it cause he wasnt the one risking hsi neck every freaking day to get his nasty old food. So she strolled through the market and was actually leaving the usual stand she went to on days like this when she noticed a strange presence in the air.

A familair presence.

A pair of black feet flashed in her brain as she approached the presence.

She walked for about fifteen minutes until she had left the market completly and was at the edge of the forests, the ones she was forbidden to enter, when she saw him.

He was chained to one of the old picket fences, looking dehydrated and dirty, and had his hand held out, clenching something. Stealth Elf approached him slowly and dared herself to lookat his feet, hoping to see the pair she saw every time she closed her eyes. Nope.

"Hey little lady" he said in a hoarse voice.

She nearly jumped because he sounded as if he'd been gargling nails for a week. And his face. He looked like someone had splashed acid on it and then stabbed it with a fork for about three hours. She swallowed her disgust and forced herself to nod in his direction.

"Wanna trade" the man asked, pointing to her bag.

She looked down at her satchel and cocked her head to the side. "It's just some stale bread and water" she mumbled. She hadnt had anything to trade so she couldnt expect them to give her anything fancy.

"Thirsty" the man assisted. "Hungry. Havent had anything in a while?"  
>"How long is a while?"<br>"Three days."  
>Stealth Elf put her hands on her hips. "You've been here for three days?"<br>"Yes, missy, you heard correctly."  
>"You're lying. I would have been sensed your presence."<br>"I cloaked it. Didnt want anyone to know I was here" the man explained.

"So why uncloak it now?"  
>"Cause I'm just about dead an' I aint ready to die yet."<p>

"What's in it for me?"  
>"You'd let an old man die?"<br>"No. But if you have something of my use, I'd like to have it... if that's alright with you."

_Ask, never demand, _Speaks would have said. _Help those who need help with nothing in mind for yourself. _Well, she did half.  
><em>"<em>Fine by me, lady. The water and food first."

"The bread's stale" she repeated.

"Dont care."  
>She sighed and shoved it at him. He finished it in one gulp. Then he reached for the bread and finshed that in two bites. Maybe he had been out there for a couple of days.<p>

"Aah" he sighed. "That's good."  
>"... And now..."<br>He grunted and raised his arms, the shackles clinking. "Let me go?"

"You got your food and yuor water. Dont make me regret my decision. People who are locked up are locked up for a reason."  
>"Fiesty. I can understand that." Then he reached in his tattered cloak and pulled out a pretty raggedy looking old book before placing it on the ground.<p>

Stealth Elf frowned and took it in her hands. "What's this?"  
>"It's a book."<br>"Well, I can see that. But what kind of book."  
>"A powerful book. A very powerful book."<br>And she knew that as well. The energy radiating off of it definetly kept her from thinking she'd been bamboozled.  
>"Be careful" the man warned, his face far away. "This book holds secrets you couldnt begin to imagine."<br>"What do you mean?"

"Sir?"  
>She turned around but no one was there.<p>

. . .

"Pericoloso Riservare."

Stealth Elf let her fingers glide across the leather covering of the book and sniffed it. Cinnamon and cranberries. That was a good sign but it also raised questions. Cinnamon and cranberries was her natural scent so that meant it was connected to her somehow.

Something about the book was calling her. Literally. She could just hear it calling her name. Only it wasnt saying "Stealth Elf." It was saying "Cannella." But it still felt like her name.

Speaks had told her when he first gave her her name he had no knowledge of her or her past life so she shouldnt pester him with questions about it. So she didnt. But she did wonder. She always did. And now there was this book in front of her, smelling EXACTLY like her, and saying what she just knew was her name. How could she resist?

She didnt think. Just flipped the book open. Instantly, she felt the word around her disappear and felt herself become sucked into the book.

_Beyond the forests, there is a danger. A story of a man who preys on the souls of those lost and looking for themselves._

Stealth Elf shivered. Was that who the man was? Why did he give her the book then. She shrugged and flipped ahead a couple of pages.

_Collard greens, pea juice, bannana peels, and mud make the perfect healing potion._

_Glass eyeballs see more than just those around it._

_He knows more than what he's letting on and isnt as innocent as yo think._

_The marshes hold secrets._

_Look to the moon, it will guide you._

_Spider Webs will keep you from harm._

_Pests, furs, and oak trees will save us all from desruction._

_Crows are natures worst enemy._

_Watch you you trust._

"Watcha reading?"  
>Stealth Elf slammed her book shut and took a deep breath. Her best friends Hex, Spryo, and Scratch had arrived. Hex and Spyro were watching her intently. Scratch looked like she was just bored.<p>

"Whoa" Hex chuckled. "You look like you just saw the devil. And I should know; I've met him. He's a jerk."  
>Spyro hopped onto her bed. "You alright" he asked.<p>

"Yeah, I'm fine" she reassured them but her voice was shaky. That and they werent listening. Their eyes were on the book.

"Getting majoir vibes from that thing" Hex mumbled.

"Where'd you get it?"

She gulped. Not good. Hex got vibes from bad things. "A guy chained to a fence gave it to me."  
>"I'm getting something too" Spyro said.<p>

"Same here" Scratch said, her fur poofing up.

"That cant be right" Stealth Elf muttered. "How can we all be getting vibes?"  
>"Could be cursed" he offered.<p>

"Or... maybe it's one of the Lost Books."  
>Somehow, Stealth Elf hadnt thought of that. Probably cause that was impossible. All of the Lost Books had been, as the title suggests, lost centuries ago. but that was the only thing that could have sent all of their senses off.<p>

"What is it" Spyro asked.

"I dont know" she said. "But... I dont know."  
>"You gonna keep it" Scratch asked.<br>"Yeah."  
>"Really" Hex said.<br>"Yeah. I think it has my answers in here."  
>Hex and Spryo frowned. Scratch was staring at a butterfly that had entered the room."Why would it-"<p>

"Well, maybe not direct answers but something. It's already given me a lot to rethink."  
>"Like looking at the moon" Hex snorted. "You already do that."<br>"But now I know why" she insisted. "It guides me."  
>"I thought the trees guided you" Scratch added, clearly confused. Stealth Elf wasn't surprised. Her short attention span was the one to blame for that.<p>

"They do. The trees and the moon."  
>"It cant be both. It's one or the other." Spyro told her.<br>Stealth Elf narrowed her eyes at them. "Did you guys come here for something?"  
>Then Hex's face paled, more than usual, and she looked away, tears gathering in her eyes.<p>

"Oh, Stealthie, it's horrible" Scratch cried.  
>"What?" All irratation left her face.<p>

"It's Eon" Spryo said, his voice shaky. "He's dead.

**I know it's short, but I need to keep moving with what I've got so I dont quit. Shout outs to:**  
><strong>mpuppy4<strong>

**Magicanus**

**sorry if it's not as good as the last one but I garuantee it'll get better from here.**


	3. What's Wrong With a Little Obssession?

Eon was an old friend of Stealth Elf's. He introduced her to the Skylanders and helped her fit in, along with Hex, Scratch, and Spyro. When Speaks was too busy meditating and conducting experiments(which was often) and Hex was busy trying to raise the dead or get back her humanity(which was often) and Spryo was busy practicing his magic and trying to get the Heads to agree with him(which was often) and Scratch was too busy getting distracted by everything she saw(which was ALWAYS), she went to Eon. He always listened, even if he was busy trying to keep Kaos from raising... chaos.

And now he was dead.

She didnt want to believe it at first. The old man, fraile and fragile as he was, couldnt be dead. He couldnt be. He'd been through so much. But she felt her strong grip to disbelief dissolve when she saw his body being carried away. Nothing looked to be wrong with him. He looked like he was sleeping.

"What happened" Stealth Elf asked, quite weakly when they arrived.

Spyro sighed and said "we dont know. Gill Grunt found him in his study with no pulse."

She turned to Stealth Elf. "So, is he in the Underworld now?"  
>Hex shook her head, looking confused. "No. The database has no record of his death. According to the Death Watchers, Eon is still alive... Technically."<br>Scratch, stretching, threw a glance at her. "But that's not right. I thought death was immidiate and the dead instantly travel to the Underworld."

"So did I" she sighed and then a skull on her belt buzzed. "I have to go. Everone's flipping out and for some reason think this all concerns me."  
>Which it did, of course. But dont forget, these are teenagers we're dealing with. All sixteen(except for Scratch, who had just turned eleven, but you get the point)They dont want to do WORK.<p>

"Later, Hex" they all said as she opened the ground and entered the Underworld.

Spyro and Scratch walked over to Stealth Elf. "You alright" Spyro asked.

"No" she said. "Something about this... it isnt right."  
>"Poor Eon" Scratch said, shaking her head. She too had had a personal relationship with Eon. She was practically like her daughter. She even <em>lived<em> with him. Stealth Elf thought of this and let her hand rest on her paw.

"You can stay at my place if you want" she offered.

She looked up and Stealth Elf felt her heart break. She looked so sad. Like her, Scratch was an orphan. Only she knew her parents. They just hadnt wanted a daughter so she'd been on her own her whole life, wondering why that was. Sometimes it was easy to forget how young she was. "Really?"  
>"Yeah." Speaks wouldnt like it but he'd had to deal with it. She was like a little sister to her and she knew the Heads wouldnt let anyone near Eon's place until they gave it an all clear.<p>

And then a bugle horn went off in the air, followed by a string of fire shooting across the sky.

"And that would be me" Spyro sighed, getting to his feet. "I gotta jet guys, sorry. Yall gonna be okay."

"Yeah... we'll be fine" Stealth Elf said.

He gave her one last worried glance before scurrying away and flying off into the sky.

"So he's really dead" Scratch asked.

"I dont think so."  
>She looked up, waiting.<p>

"I mean, they say he doesnt have a pulse but he didnt turn up in the Underworld. That doesnt make any sense. They have an organized system so you dont go floating off into an abyss. It's _impossible_ for anyone to not turn up in the Underworld."  
>"...So he's not dead."<br>"No... I dont know, maybe. But if he is, then something is seriously wrong. Eon, of all people, shouldnt have disappeared like that. He's too powerful to slip up like that."  
>Scratch, her eyes on the breeze in the grass, said "maybe your book knows something about it."<br>She froze. The book. Her hand slipped into her satchel and she was surprised to find she could feel the comfortable leather feel of it.

Whoa.

She didnt even remember shoving it in her bag.

But that didnt matter. Scratch was onto something. The book was powerful. Maybe it knew something about this.

Stealth Elf pulled Pericoloso Riservare out of her satchel and let her fingers graze the cover. The power seeping from it was unbelievable. She sighed and opened it to a random page.

_Some things are better left alone._

She closed the book with such a slam several other Skylanders snapped their heads in her dierection. They too could feel the sudden sharp pull of energy but they werent sure what to think of it so they left it alone.

_Well that was weird_, she thought to herself. That couldnt have been a coicidence.

"Did you see something" Scratch asked.

"Nothing helpful" Stealth Elf muttered. "Just a warning."  
>"A warning?"<br>"'Some things are better left alone'."  
>"This is really getting freaky."<br>"Getting?" She shook her head. "This whole day has been weird."  
>Then, as if to prove her right, the wind sent a breeze their way and flipped the book from her hands. Stealth Elf groaned and walked over to recollect the book. The page it had landed on sent shivers down her spine. A picture of an elf being hanged. She snapped it shut before snatching it off the ground and turning to face Scratch. "Come on" she said, shivering. "Let's go home."<br>. . .

Speaks didnt say much when Stealth Elf asked him if Scratch would stay with them. In fact, he barely raised his head. Which was weird, considering that he was usually all up in her business. Maybe her training was finally coming to an end. Come to of it, when was the last time she'd gone to training? She shook her head and crawled up the stairs.

"You can sleep here" she said, patting her bed.

"But where will you sleep" Scratch asked.

"There's a spare bed downstairs" she shrugged, lying. It didnt matter where she slept. She wasnt even sure IF she'd be getting any sleep that night.

Scratch crawled ontop of the bed and curled up. "I'd hate to be of burden."  
>"Trust me, you're not. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to for once."<br>"What about Speaks?"  
>"Well... he isnt really much of a talker."<br>She snorted. "Well that's all kinds of ironic."

Stealth Elf chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess it is."  
>At the time, she'd been amazed at his speaking ability so she simply associated him as that and it just stuck. But lately... he didnt have as much to say. He was always in his study, working on something. "Eon needs me to create something to stop the dwarves from breaching the capital. It's a real mess" he'd explained to her. But that had been months ago. And he still wasnt finished. Maybe he'd give up, now that Eon was gone. Or maybe he'd get worse, since he was gone, and try to finish it in his honor. She sighed and decided she'd talk to him about it.<p>

"It's humming."  
>Stealth Elf pulled herself out of her thoughts and turned to Scratch. "What?"<br>"That... book. It's humming." She drew away from it slightly.

She was right. It was... soothing, in a strange way. She let her hand clutch it, as if she was afraid someone would take it from her if she let go. "It's just a book" Stealth Elf said, quietly. "Nothing to be afraid of."  
>"... You said you got it from a man chained to a fence."<br>"Yeah."  
>"Well... maybe you should give it back."<p>

She shook her head. "No. No, there's something special about this book. I can feel it. Something good's gonna come from this. I can feel it. Pericoloso Riservare."

The fur on her back stood up. "'Pericoloso Riservare'! Stealth Elf, do you know what that means?"  
>She shrugged. "'Dangerous book. Not everything dangerous is bad."<p>

She looked away. "Yeah, I know but-"

"I just wanna read it" she continued, crawling on the bed with her. "And I want you to too."  
>Normally, Scratch would have laughed at her using words like that. But now, she just paled.<p>

"I wont force you. But... I'd feel better if you did."  
>"... <em>One page, one page <em>and that's it."

She smiled and flipped the book open.

And it was just like the first time. Everything kind of froze. Stealth Elf smiled to herself and allowed herself to read one page, wanting to savor it.

_There are some instances in nature where the balance can be thrown out of order and set off the balance of other natures. These instances can be known as Ripples. It is not known how or why they take place but they are unpredictable and can even render the most powerful defenseless._

"Like the Underworld" Stealth Elf said.

_These Ripples can occur for seconds or even for years at a time. No one has been known to escape the wrath of a Ripple. They take those and are never seen again:_

_McTeeth_

_Jasper_

_Torus_

_Yitter_

_Liona_

_Trag_

_Jip_

_Uer_

_Dan_

_Fig_

_Kelp_

_Karter_

_Orca_

_Witts_

_Qaur_

_Eon_

"Eon" Scratch cried. "Oh, Stealth Elf, it says we wont ever see him again."

"The Ripple is between the Overworld and the Underworld."  
>"So that means he could be between either of those."<br>"So, what, we send a search party? They're gonna wanna know how we even know about this."

She shrugged. "So we tell them."  
>"They'll lock you up in a heart beat. Those books are illegal, not to mention DANGEROUS! You know 'Riservare'!"<p>

"Fine. But they've gotta know. Maybe they can do something about this."  
>"Dont you think maybe the person who wrote this already know this?"<p>

"..."

"You should just get rid of that book. How did it even know about Eon? It looks centuries years old!"  
>Yeah, she was right about that. But Stealth Elf couldnt bring herself to part with it. She'd just gotten it. And if it was right about Eon, what else was it right about. She felt herself begin to open the book but told herself she'd have to wait until Scratch was asleep. And maybe until she was back in the marshes. Yeah... No one ever bothered to go there, not even the other Life elementals; they didnt like the mud. She always felt safe there. But here... she felt like she was being watched.<p>

"Alright" Stealth Elf said. "I'll get rid of it." it was a lie. But Scratch didnt understand. if this could help her solve the very mystery that was her life, she wasnt just gonna get rid of it. She'd _known_ her parents. She'd_ had _a life. Stealth Elf didnt even know her birthday. Pericoloso Riservare could change all of that.

**Eh, eh?**

**Love it, hate it? Let me know. I happen to take critisim VERY well.**

***cough cough* liar *cough cough***


	4. Spirituale Asilo( Also Italian)

It was a terribel idea.

That much Stealth Elf knew. Even in the slightly delusional state she was in, she knew heading into the marshes at this time of night was not someothing one would want to do. After all, there was a reason that she was the only Skylander( life elementals included) that went there.

She shook her head and held the Pericoloso Riservare closer to her chest. _Dont think, dont think_, she told herself. _Almost there._

As Stealth Elf walked down the hill, she began to see the marshes. But they didnt look like how they had before. There was a mist surrounding the marshes. Stealth Elf admired them in beauty and in awe. How beautiful. She quickened her pace and before she knew it, she was tumbling head over heels down that hill. Well, Jesus, if that didnt feel familiar. But she didnt care. She just crawled to her feet and stared out at the dark mist.

Wait a minute. Back the truck up.

Stealth Elf, feeling her heartbeat rise to what couldnt have been a healthy number, cocked an eyebrow and let her fingers reach down onto her belt, ready to retrieve her daggers and slice anyone into streamers in a matter of seconds. Something was off about the presence of the air. Something... familiar. Her eyebrows shot up and she looked around.

_That makes three_, she thought. _Three times I've felt it._ Then she took a deep breath. _Dont panic, _she told herself. _Concentrate._

Stealth Elf closed her eyes and tried to focus. It wasnt hard. The marshes were as good a place for her to concentrate as anywhere. She practically lived there.

Speaks had once told her if she wanted to find an answer, she had to look in the question.

_The answer in the question, _she thought.

Another deep breath and Stealth Elf let all of her senses enhance, imagining what Speaks would have her do. It wasnt easy though. Like I said, she hadnt had training in over a month. So instead, she thought back to the first time he'd told her how to find her answers.

"_What do you see_" he'd said.

"_I see an onion, a pumpin root, and peas."_

_"Look deeper. I know you see more" he'd urged._

_"There's nothing there" she'd insisted._

_"Come on. i've taught you better than this. Some times, things are there that you cant see."_

_She'd taken it into consideration and after a while, she closed her eyes. Listen... She heard birds chirping, leaves blowing, and something... swirling. She frowned and felt something wash over her. Then she let herself breathe in. And smiled._

"_Spark Dust" she siad, proud that she had figured it out. "You put Spark Dust on them."_  
><em>Speaks nodded. "You've learned well, Stealth Elf."<em>

_She'd smiled and leaned back against the ground, tossing the onion between her hands."_

"The answer is in the question" Stealth Elf whispered and closed her eyes. Water rushing, frogs croaking, grasshoppers chirping. Nothing unusual there. Then she took a deep breath. Mildew, sugarcane, weeds, water, frog poo. Nothing weird there. She got down on her knees and felt around her. Weeds, water, a beetle, mud. Nothing out of place there. She sighed and opened her eyes. She needed to find it.

"Fo-cus" she told herself and sank into the water, only her nose above the water. Stealth Elf took a deep breath again and repeated the word in her head. Speaks had been trying to get her to unlock this skill for years and she'd still yet to find the key. But as she lay there in those swampy waters, she felt something tingling inside of her. And suddenly, there were white spots popping up around her. She felt dizzy. She didnt open her eyes though. Instead, she gripped the grass beside her in one hand and Pericoloso Riservare in the other. Whether it was her connection with the grass or the energy radiating off of the book, but suddenly, there was a surge of energy rippling through her. Stealth Elf gasped as she felt herself begin to slip away, deep into the mud. But she didnt panic. She just looked above her, watching the sky and the stars slowly disappear from her view, wondering if she would ever see them again...

**. . .**

**"Hey. Hey."**

**Stealth Elf groaned and turned away.**

**"Hey. Hey."**

**She scowled and said "go away. I'm trying to sleep over here." She'd never been one for lounging around but at the moment, she felt completley drained and sleep seemed like an old friend she hadnt seen in years. Which wasnt a total lie.**

**"Hey. Hey, you."**

**Finally, she snapped her eyes open. "What" she snapped. "What do you want..."She trailed off as she looked around her. **

**This was not the marshes. And this was not her room. "Where... Where am I" she asked in a hoarse voice. **

**"This" another voice explained. "This is the Spirituale Asilo. And **_**you **_**are crushing my house."**

**Stealth Elf cocked an eyebrow and looked down, finding another set of eyes staring back up at her. "Well, it's about time you woke up" he said. "do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get you to move it? Honestly, how would **_**you**_** like it if a giant decided to take a little cat nap on **_**your**_** house."**

**She was suddenly aware that she was being criticized by a skinny rat. "Excuse me" she said.**

**"My. House." he said, tapping his foot impatiently.**

**Then she looked down and saw she was laying on a rather large mushroom. "Golly, I'm sorry" she apologized. **

**"You ought to be. It's hard for a little guy like me to find a decent place to stay. And then you just came over here and parked your butt right on it."**  
><strong>"I said I was sorry" Stealth Elf muttered, crawling to her feet. She swayed a bit but other than that, she was fine. "Where am I" she repeated.<strong>

**"The Spirituale Asilo" he repeated, rolling her eyes. "Goodness, for someone who thinks they can do anything, you sure arent too smart."**

**But she wasnt listening. She was looking around her.**

**The marshes had never been much of a looker but now, Stealth Elf wondered if anyone would ever feel uncomfortable in them again. The weeds and green were gone, replaced with skulls and bones. The water was no longer a blue color, but instead, looked a lot like what Stealth Elf hoped wasnt blood. And the sky... it was pitch black. And there was smoke everywhere. **_**Not smoke**_**, a voice told her. **_**The mist.**_** She whistled and took a deep breath. "Well" she said. "That's something."**  
><strong>The rat followed her gaze. "What? Never seen the mist before?"<strong>  
><strong>"I have" she explained. "But they dont usually remind me of someone coming to pull me into hell."<strong>

**He eyed her, confused, until realization fell on his face. "Oh... Oh, I get it. You're one of those 'Skylanders, defenders of peace' and all that garbage."**

**She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"**  
><strong>"Nothing" the rat answered. "Just that for a bunch of people who are supposed to be keeping the peace at balance, you dont seem to care about those of us down here."<strong>

**Stealth Elf felt her eyes widen. "Is there where all of the Ripples are coming from" she asked.**

**He shook his head. "No. No one knows where those are coming from. But that's aside the point. Are you or are you not a Skylander."**  
><strong>"I am" she said and for the first time ever, she didnt feel proud admittting it.<strong>

**"Well, down here, we have pests. Like demons and warlocks and demons and, ah, more demons. Who ought to be lost in those Ripples anyhow."**

**She stared at him. "Well, what those that have to do with me?"**  
><strong>"Skylanders" he pointer at her. "are supposed to protect those who cant protect themselves." He pointed to himself. "And, missy, we have been on our own for the past eleven eons."<strong>  
><strong>"That's not my fault" she argued. "And besides, I've never even heard of Spirituale Asilo and I'm sure no other Skylander has either."<strong>  
><strong>"That's a lie. We send Eon messages practically everyday about this mess and he hasnt replied once."<strong>  
><strong>Stealth Elf felt her heart sink. Eon knew? But why didnt he do anything about it.<strong>

**"And if you ask me" the rat went on. "He deserves whatever's coming to him."**  
><strong>"He fell in the Ripple."<strong>  
><strong>He rolled his eyes as if she were the dumbest person in the world. "Anyway, it serves him right, ignoring us for all these years."<strong>  
><strong>"Well, someone's bitter."<strong>  
><strong>"Darn right I am, you moron."<strong>  
><strong>"Stealth Elf." She whispered.<strong>

**He looked up and saw her usual green sky was a little... white. "What?"**  
><strong>"My name" she said, shaking. "Is Stealth Elf." It was all she had to call her own, really, and she wanted people to respect... Even if they werent really people.<strong>

**"Well, Stealth Elf, my name's Henry."**  
><strong>"Hello Henry."<strong>

**She stared off into the horizon. "How do I get out of here?"**

**Henry frowned. "We've been asking that for a long time, kiddo."**  
><strong>. . .<strong>

**Henry's house was a lot bigger on the outside than it was on the inside. But even with that, she still wasnt sure if she should risk sitting in his tiny chair. So she just got on her hands and knees and brought her hands to the fire he was cooking up. **

**"Thank goodness you didnt totally crush my house" he mumbled, handing her a what looked like tree bark. "Then we'd really be in trouble."**

**Stealth Elf turned it over a few times, wondering if he had stuck something on it for her before finally asking "what is it?"**  
><strong>"Tree bark, dum-" He froze and said "It's tree bark", remembering what happened last time he didnt address her by her name. <strong>

**"I know that." What Life elemental didnt? "But what am I supposed to do with it."**  
><strong>"Eat it."<strong>

**"You're kidding right?"**  
><strong>"This is the Asilo, sweetheart. Food is hard to come by."<strong>  
><strong>Stealth Elf scowled before taking a catious bite. It may sound whimpy, but the splinter was unbelievable painful. She didnt let it show, though. She had questions. As always.<strong>

**"So, why am I here" she asked.**

**"Nobody really knows" Henry said, taking a seat at his tiny table. "But I believe it has something to do with your elemental power."**  
><strong>She shook her head. On her way to the marshes, she'd read up a little on those who were lost in the Ripples. Each of them had a different element, and not too many elements ahd been repeated twice. "No" she said and pulled out Pericoloso Riservare. "No, in here it says-"<strong>

**Henry hissed and drew back, reminding Stealth Elf an awful lot of Scratch. And though she hadnt been gone for long, she began to feel homesick. Must be what Dorothy felt like.**

**"Get that thing out of here!"**

**She looked down and stared at the leather book in her hands. Nothing seemed wrong. In fact, she felt stronger. "What's wrong with it?"**  
><strong>"Oh, I dont know. Maybe a bunch of people would <strong>_**kill**_** to get their hands on that!"**  
><strong>She shook her head. "I cant get rid of it. It might help."<strong>  
><strong>Henry scoffed. "That's what they all say. Next thing you know, KINGDOMS are crumbling and-"<strong>

**"Do you want to get out fo here" she whispered, afraid someone might hear.**

**Henry's eyes widened. Then his face turned stone cold. "Where do we start?"**

Dont ask me how this happened cause I'm not even sure but this story is evolving into something BEAUTIFUL. If onyl more people woudl read it!


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